Living in a Masquerade
by TheSacredIdiot
Summary: "Thanks Dad." I said, giving him a hug. His arms quickly wrapped around me, his grip familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. "I think this is the first time you've ever hugged me." He pondered. I nodded into his chest, and chuckled. "It's also the first time I've called you Dad." Will Aurora pick her mother, father, and brother? Or will she pick her abductor?
1. Chapter 1

"Melanie, can you at least do your hair?" My mother asked, exasperated. I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"My hair is fine." I said, looking at myself in the mirror. Sure, it was a bit messy, but it didn't look horrible.

"You look like you were chased by a bear." Mom pulled her curling iron out. It was a sparkly blue, and too flashy for me. Of course, everything else my mother owned was also too flashy for me, so this wasn't really a surprise.

She re-brushed my hair, yanking on the tangles. It hurt, but I had become accustomed to the feeling. In a few minutes the bottom of my hair had a few curls, while the rest of my hair was pretty beach waves.

She convinced me to put on some mascara and eyeliner, although she couldn't force me to put on eyeshadow.

"Come on!" She insisted, yet again showing me the gold makeup. "It'll look so pretty with your eye color!"

My eyes are a citrine color, and were pretty unique around here.

"Thanks, but no thanks." I said, a small smile across my face. She looked me over and a wistful look blossomed across her face.

"You're so beautiful." She sighed, setting her hand on the side of my face. I leaned into it, the feeling if her warm hand nice and familiar.

"I guess." I said, studying her features. She was the definition of gorgeous, with straight blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. With my eyes and my dark brown hair, we didn't look anything alike. Apparently I had gotten my looks from my father, who had died when I was three.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek and her smile grew bigger.

"Get out of here and go learn something, slacker." She laughed, and I rolled my eyes. Grabbing my backpack, I made my way to my car, which I had just gotten. It was a 'Congratulations for making it to junior year!' car. My mother hadn't passed sophomore year because that was when she became pregnant with me.

I turned the radio up, a catchy pop song filling my car. Thankfully I could appreciate all types of music, so I sang along.

I made it to school with five minutes to spare, happy to find a good parking spot. Most of the time the parking lot was filled, but today people were a little late, getting ready for pictures.

I grabbed my backpack and ran to the gymnasium, desperately trying to find my homeroom class. I scanned he whole room, and found my class towards the front.

I walked over, finding Beatrice second in line. Her long black hair was down, and stick straight. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she shook her head.

"Girl, have you seen your hair?" She asked me, pulling a mirror out of her backpack. I grabbed it, knowing that if I didn't fix it my mom would be really upset. My mascara and eyeliner were intact, but, as Beatrice said, my hair was a mess. It was all over the place, random strands sticking out, I then realized I probably shouldn't have ran.

"Beatrice Potter!" The lady who was taking pictures called Beatrice's name, and she gave me a quick smile, shoving her stuff into me. Beatrice smiled widely, as pretty as ever. She was wearing a blue dress, one that complimented her eyes.

She was quickly done, as always. Beatrice had always been photogenic. She grabbed her stuff right as my name was called.

"Melanie Smith!"

I walked to the green screen, awkwardly holding my hands on my hips. The woman looked confused, and asked,

"Did you need to change?"

I shook my head, looking down at my shirt. I was wearing a shirt that had a black and white picture of Bill Murray on the front, and black skinny jeans with worn out all-black Vans.

Uncertainly, she told me to smile. I did, and she took the picture, giving me a disapproving look the whole time.

I stepped away and went to join the rest of the class whose pictures had been taken. I found Beatrice talking to Shawn and Chet, and went to stand alone.

Knowing none of the teachers were paying attention, I pulled out my phone. I went straight to the internet, finding the story I had been reading on Wattpad. It was a psychological thriller, following a murderer with Borderline Personality Disorder. I wanted to be a psychiatrist so I read a lot of psychological stuff.

After about an hour, we were told to go to homeroom.

Until fifth period, the day was pretty normal. Beatrice raising her hand and getting questions wrong. Me keeping quiet and getting the answers right. Andre copying off any tests we took.

Then, in the middle of fifth period, things were deviated.

"Melanie Smith, please report to the office." Said Mr. Greene over the intercom. I frowned, puzzled. I never got called to the office. There were a bunch of 'oohs' and 'someone's in trouble's' as I grabbed my backpack and stood up.

Mr. Wesley told me the homework and I made my way to the office, wondering if I was in trouble. Did someone see me on my phone? If so, why would I be called to the office this late?

When I reached the office, I saw a bunch of police officers through the window. What was going on? I stood outside for a second, thinking that maybe I should leave.

Deciding that leaving would be cowardly, I stepped inside. I felt all of the cops' eyes on me. Most of them were shocked, like they had just been proven wrong or something.

Feeling a lump in my throat, I walked to the desk, seeing Irene on the computer.

"Mr. Greene called for me?" I said nervously, tapping my fingers on the desk. Irene looked up, smiling.

"Yes, you can go meet him in his office." She said cheerfully. She was a very cheerful person, and always had a happy expression. I nodded and slowly walked to his office, still feeling the officers' eyes.

I opened Mr. Greene's office door and saw a woman sitting at his desk. Mr. Greene himself was standing in the corner on his cellphone.

"Sit down." The woman said, gesturing to a chair in front of the desk.

I sat down, the plastic slightly uncomfortable. I glanced at Mr. Greene, who was giving me a sympathetic look.

"I'm Jolene." The woman announced, lacing her fingers together. "And you must be Melanie?"

I nodded, feeling confusion. I really wished she could just tell me what was going on.

"Do you know where your mother is right now?"

I frowned, wondering why she cared.

"Probably at my house..." I said, feeling my eyebrows knit together.

"And what is your mother's name?"

"Phoebe Smith."

Jolene wrote something down on a notepad, nodding.

"If you don't mind, can you please tell me what this is about?" I asked, feeling a bit impatient. I didn't want to be rude or hurt anybody's feelings, but being so confused was disorienting.

"Well, today we noticed something." Jolene said, putting her full attention on me. "A few weeks ago, Annabelle Eden sent a picture out to every school in Northern Michigan. This was the picture." She pulled a picture out of her purse and handed it to me.

It was a picture of a young girl, probably around three or four. She had very dark brown hair and beautiful golden eyes. Her skin was fair, and then I noticed how much she looked like me.

Noticing my realization, Jolene started talking again. "That's a picture of Aurora Eden, her daughter who was abducted twelve years ago." She then got another picture out of her purse and handed it to me. It was my school picture from earlier today.

I put the pictures next to each other, and they were obviously the same girl. Same dimples, button nose, round cheeks. Same facial expression. I threw the pictures down, slowly comprehending.

"So..." I said, feeling sick. "You're saying that I was abducted."

Jolene nodded, picking up the pictures. "The person you think is your mother, isn't. She's your kidnapper."

I felt like throwing up. Or like screaming. Or both.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, closing my eyes. Things were shifting. Everything was shifting.

"We already informed your real mother, and we set a flight for you to go back to Jackson, California. You'll move in with your mother, father, and brother. Your brother is older than you by a year, and you'll go to Argonaut High-School with him."

"Okay." I said, rubbing my temples and nodding. "What happens to my mo-, I mean, Phoebe Smith." I felt so weird, like I was living in a movie.

"She ran, but when we catch her, she'll be arrested."

"Will I get to talk to her?" I asked. I didn't get a response, so I looked up. Jolene was biting her lip, avoiding my eyes.

"Jolene, will I get to talk to Phoebe?" She looked up at me, and said sternly,

"No, I don't think you will." She answered, standing up. I stood up with her, feeling awkward, and so confused.

"If you'll follow me, we'll go to your house, get your stuff, and head to the airport." She said curtly walking past me.

I stumbled behind her, walking to the parking lot. She asked me which car was mine and when I told her she said she'd follow me.

I walked over to my car numbly, feeling all of this new information sink in. I got in my car and started driving, not bothering to turn the radio on.

After a few minutes of being silent I couldn't stand it. I needed something to distract all of my negative thoughts, so I turned on the radio. The song was 'No Rain' by Blind Melon.

"If only that was true." I muttered, pulling into the driveway. There were four cars behind me, all black Escalades. Jolene stepped out and walked over to me briskly.

"We already checked the house, so we're going to give you some privacy. You've got twenty minutes to gather anything that you need, or anything important to you."

I nodded and walked over to my house, glad to be alone. I immediately went to my room, grabbing some clothes and shoes. I didn't want it to seem like I'd been investigating the whole time.

I glanced around the room to find my favorite book lying on my bed, even though I'd left it on my dresser this morning. I walked over to it and checked the cover and the back, looking for clues. Nothing. I then flipped through the pages looking for a note or letter. Nothing. Just as I was about to give up, something caught my eye.

One if the highlights was much thicker than the other highlights, like it was done with another pen. I checked the quote to see if it had any meaning at all, and it read,

'I didn't think anyone would catch us. No one was ever at the school past five, let alone midnight.'

Also, in tiny handwriting, there was a small note that said, eight-nineteen. I remembered how smart my mom was, and knew there was a plan involved with this.

Not wanting to seem suspicious, I grabbed my books and movies and hurried out the door.

"Did you find anything weird?" Jolene asked. I shook my head, my lips tight. "Well, get in then. Your flight is in an hour."

I got in the passenger seat and pulled out another book, and pretended to read.

I was going to talk to my mom, whether the FBI, or the government, or whoever wanted me to.

**First things first, (I'm the realest) if anyone is wondering why my other stories are gone, thank my little sister. She deleted them while I was in the bathroom, stating 'I thought I was adding another chapter'. Anyway, how was it? Good, bad, ugly? Please like, review, favorite, follow, etc. By the way, if anyone's curious, Jackson, California is a real place. So is Argonaut High-School, but the layout will be different because I moved away from Jackson when I was still in junior high. I hope you all had a good day!**

**-Love Bella**


	2. Chapter 2

After getting off the airplane and out of the airport, I met my "family".

"Aurora?" The woman called, a tear dripping down her cheek. It felt odd to be called anything other than Melanie, or Mel. She ran over to me and enveloped me in a hug. I'll admit, I didn't reciprocate.

She then pulled back a little, studying my features. "Oh, you look so much like your father!" She said, smiling. I smiled back, feeling her enthusiasm fill me up.

"Ace, Adonis, get over here!" She called over to a boy and a man. Adonis? I assumed that was the name of my brother, considering my name was Aurora. Aurora and Adonis. A bit pretentious if you ask me.

Ace held his hand out, a kind smile across his face. I quickly shook it, his grip warm and firm. My brother mostly looked kind of nervous.

"So, you're Aurora." He announced, his hands in his pockets. I slowly nodded, my lips tight.

"I guess." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "And you're Adonis?"

"Yeah. I would tell you that you can call me by my nickname, but I don't have one."

"Do I have a nickname?" I asked, glancing around. It was weird to think that I might have been talked about for years without ever knowing.

"Hmm." Ace said, deep in thought. "Well, when your mother named you, she always wanted to call you Aurie."

I nodded, and bit my lip slightly. "I like Aurie." I admitted. It sounded less elegant and graceful than Aurora, which was more fitting for me.

Annabelle seemed at a loss for words, like she didn't know what to say.

"I bet you're hungry." She said, grabbing my arm. "Why don't we get something to eat?"

"Alright." I said, feeling my stomach rumble. "Is there a McDonalds here?"

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Yes, but we don't eat stuff like that. It's unhealthy."

I glanced over at Ace, feeling a bit confused. He nodded, although didn't look particularly happy about it. Adonis looked like he wanted McDonalds really badly.

"Can we make an exception?" I asked. "Besides clam chowder, it's my favorite food."

Annabelle looked scandalized. "Sure..."

She led me to the car, although the McDonalds in town was about two minutes away. I ordered a plain McChicken like usual, and both Adonis and Ace got quarter pounders. Annabelle didn't get anything, claiming she wasn't hungry.

"Are you excited for school?" She asked, watching me eat.

I finished my bite if sandwich and replied,

"I'm not sure. I've always liked school, but I've always been to the same school."

"Are you sporty?" Adonis asked, his mouth full.

"Adonis, don't talk with your mouth full!" Annabelle huffed.

I chuckled. "Not really. I'm more into books, video games, and movies."

"You're fucked then."

"Language, son." Ace warned, a small smile on his face.

"I'm serious." Adonis said, looking at me. "The people there will rip you apart. Especially the cheerleaders and basketball team."

"Are you sporty?" I asked curiously. He looked like it, but the way he spoke of these people suggested he wasn't.

"Quarterback." He said proudly.

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe a bit." He shrugged. "But I said the basketball team was full of assholes, not the football team."

"I'm sure."

"Really Aurie." He said seriously. "The football team isn't as full of assholes because the coach tells us that if he hears one incident of bullying, we're kicked off. On the basketball team, the coach doesn't give a shit as long as his team's winning."

I kept that in mind as I ate. Annabelle and Ace asked me a few questions, like what my interests were, and my grades and such.

"A four-point-oh?" Ace asked, finally finished with his sandwich.

"Yep. Since the sixth grade."

"Wow. I wish Adonis would work that hard."

"Hey!" He objected, looking up from his cellphone.

"It's not that hard. You just have to pay attention, study, and do all of your homework."

"Great." Adonis sighed, putting his phone away. "I got the goody goody for a sister."

"Great." I mocked. "I got the dumb jock for a brother." He laughed, and I was happy he didn't take it the wrong way.

After Adonis finished, we went home. On the way home, we passed the high school. It was small and quaint, like the rest of this small town.

Our house was big, a bit bigger than the rest of the houses in this neighborhood.

"How do we have so much money?" I asked, eying the neighbors house.

"I'm a hairdresser for the Carver's, the richest people in town, and your father is a psychiatrist." Annabelle explained, pulling out her key. It was gold, with little diamonds encrusted into it. "So together we make a lot of money."

"I want to be a psychiatrist." I said, smiling at Ace. He smiled back.

"It must be a genetic thing." He said, proudly. I then noticed how much Adonis and Ace looked alike, with their dark brown hair that matched mine, and their light blue eyes. Annabelle had the citrine eyes, and gold hair to match.

Annabelle showed me my room and told me to upack and come downstairs for "family night".

The room had a yellow theme, one that was a bit bright. I wasn't the type to complain though, and I was lucky to have a room at all. There were a few poetry books lying around, along with some Steinback.

I packed my few belongings, reluctant to put my book down. There were so many theories jumping around in my head as to why my mother had kidnapped me. Hopefully she could answer these questions when I saw her again.

Downstairs, Annabelle and Ace were sitting on the loveseat together, while Adonis was sprawled across the couch by himself. Once he saw me he straightened out, giving me room. I flounced myself next to him, sinking into the memory foam.

"I was thinking we could watch that new documentary that just came out." Annabelle suggested. "That one about the mermaids?"

Ace looked fine with that, but Adonis looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"What about a scary movie?" I asked. Adonis immediately brightened up, nodding vigorously.

"We don't own any." She said thankfully, obviously relieved. Unfortunately for her, I brought some.

"I brought The Shining and A Nightmare on Elms Street." I said, standing up. Adonis cheered, hooting, "Shining!"

Ace shrugged and Annabelle looked defeated.

"Fine." She muttered. "Bring out The Shining."

About an hour into the movie, I realized why they didn't own any horror movies.

"Poor little boy!" Annabelle exclaimed, clutching onto Ace's arm. I was afraid that she would cut off his circulation, because his arm was turning purple.

"Mom, calm down." Adonis said, focused on the movie. Apparently he hadn't seen the movie before, because he wanted to pay attention to everything. He had shushed everybody multiple times, and groaned if we wouldn't listen to his pleas. I figured he was a bit of a movie fanatic, like me.

Much to Adonis' pleasure, Annabelle left the room after a few more minutes.

"Don't stay up too late." She warned us, hands on her hips. "You have school tomorrow."

* * *

I didn't have any idea how I was related to these people.

"Wake up!" Annabelle yelled, shaking my shoulders. My eyes jerked open, and I looked at the clock that was installed into my wall. It was six-thirty.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"No." She frowned, sitting at the edge of my bed. "Should I have woken you up earlier?"

"Uh, no." I said, shaking my head. "Waking me up at about seven-thirty should suffice."

"But school starts at eight-fifteen! And we drop Adonis- and you- off at a quarter till."

"It only takes me about fifteen minutes to get ready." I said, shrugging. She looked terrified.

"Alright then." She said, getting up. "I'll uh, I'll leave you to it."

I put on my K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies shirt, along with my regular black skinny jeans and sneakers. I brushed my hair and examined it, wondering if I should style it for my first day at my new school.

Nah. No matter what I did with it, my hair was always a mess. Scavenging through my stuff, I found a few hair ties and attempted to put my hair in a ponytail. My hair was so thick that it usually broke most of the ties, but I got a bit of luck today.

When I was finished getting ready, everybody else in the family was just getting ready to eat breakfast.

"I was wondering if I could just walk to the school." I proposed, picking up my backpack. Ace, who was pouring a bowl of cereal, glanced over at Annabelle.

"I don't see why not." Annabelle said, taking a bite of her banana. In the short time I'd been here, I had noticed how healthy she was. It was a little extreme, but she definitely looked great for however old she was.

"Is it okay if I go now?"

"Now? It's only seven?" Ace asked. He had set down his cereal, and turned his attention to me.

"Yeah. I kind of want to get a feel for the school. Plus, I have to find out my schedule and find out where my classes are. I've learned that it's always better to be familiar with your surroundings."

"You can go." Annabelle said, completely cutting Ace of. Instead of being annoyed, he looked a bit impressed.

"Will you guys be here when school ends?" I asked, checking inside my backpack to make sure I had everything.

"No. I have an appointment at two and at four today, and your father works until six." Annabelle announced. "The door will probably be locked, so you can head down to the library with Adonis."

"Just don't cramp my style!" Adonis yelled from upstairs. I rolled my eyes and gave Ace and Annabelle a quick smile before walking out the door.

Instead of going right to school, I walked to the nearest gas station, Jon's Pit Stop. I bought a Mountain Dew and a Butterfinger, my nutritional breakfast. Tearing the Butterfinger out of it's wrapper, I made my way back in the direction of the school.

By the time I reached the school again it was seven-thirty, and I had finished my "breakfast". Apparently everyone knew about my situation, because when I got there, everyone was staring at me. I vaguely remembered that the school only had about four hundred students. It seemed that at least half were already here.

I found my way to the office without asking, not wanting to bother anybody. I wasn't really the shy type, but I was more of an observer than a conversation starter.

The office lady was really nice and gave me my schedule right away, explaining that it was the same as my Michigan schedule, except they replaced Basic Psychology, with Gym. Apparently this was a really sporty school, like Adonis had told me, and Gym was required all four years. They also didn't teach Basic Psychology here, which made me a little disappointed considering it was my favorite class.

She also handed me a map, a lunch menu, and a list of rules. Reading the rules carefully, I was a little shocked to see how liberal the school was, with the dress code almost nonexistent and no profanity banning.

The school was mostly outside except for the gym. It was huge, taking up most of the space. I sat myself down at a tree next to my English class, wishing I had spent more time at the gas station.

Everyone was still staring at me, whispering. If my personality was like the characters in the stories I read, I would've stood up and confronted everybody. But, I wasn't. I was more of the observer/peace maker over the conversation starter/fight finisher.

At around seven-fifty, twenty-five minutes before the bell rang, I was approached.

"Hello there." A deep scratchy voice said. I looked up to see a guy my age standing in front of me, his hand extended. Against my better instinct, I grabbed his hand, letting him pull me up.

"I'm William. You're Aurora I presume?" He asked, a smile on his face. His presence screamed intimidating, but I was much more cautious of people at the moment, no doubt due to the situation I was in.

"Yes, but you can call me Aurie." I said, brushing at my knees. Everyone was still staring, but the crowd had gone silent.

"Aurie." He pondered. "I like it. It's a lot more feminine than Rory."

"Well, William is a very nice, very masculine name." I told him, hoping he would take it as a compliment.

"Thank you." He said happily. His eyebrows creased, but not necessarily in a bad way. "I can tell you're a polite girl. There's not a lot of those anymore, so it's a very desirable trait."

I gave him a warm smile, but the compliment didn't quite effect me the way I think he wanted it to.

Just as he was about to say something else, another guy showed up. He had a certain charm, one that immediately made him seem friendly. He seemed concerned, glancing at our faces.

"Hey Bill." He said showing off his southern accent. It added to his attractiveness, especially because it had a kind tone. He rested his hand on Bill's shoulder, and Bill looked annoyed.

"Hey Luke." He said, keeping his voice calm. He obviously wasn't the happiest camper right now, and things were getting uncomfortable. "You know it's rude to interrupt a conversation. Aurie here is real big on politeness."

Luke looked over at me and smiled. "I'm sorry to interrupt y'all's conversation. I just wanted to see what was goin' on."

"It's alright." I said. In fact, I was glad he interrupted. I wasn't sure how much time I wanted to be spending with Bill.

"I think I'm gonna head over to the math classroom." Bill said tightly, his eyes on Luke. He then rested his gaze on me, his face softening. "We can talk later."

Bill left, leaving Luke and I alone. Luke finally took his eyes off of Bill and put them on me.

"I really didn't mean to be rude." He said genuinely. "I just don't think it's safe for a girl like you to be hangin' out with a guy like him."

I frowned a little, confused by that last comment. "Why?" I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling defensive.

"No offense, but you're obviously really nice and polite." He said. "And Bill's kind if manipulative. I don't want anybody gettin' hurt here, let alone a nice, pretty girl."

I blushed a little at the pretty part, but then put on a blank face. "I appreciate it." I said, holding my hand out. "I don't think we properly met. I'm Aurora, but you can call me Aurie."

He smiled yet again, and I felt like that was sort of a natural thing for him. He clasped my hand, his grip warm. "I'm Luke. And you can call me... Well, you can call me Luke. I don't really have a nickname, but if I did I want you to know you'd be able to use it."

I laughed a little, picking up my backpack. A lot of people around us had stopped staring and started heading in different directions, so I assumed the bell was about to ring.

"So, what's your first class?" He asked.

"English. Yours?" I was hoping it was English, hoping I would know at least one person in my homeroom.

"English. Could I see your schedule?"

I nodded, pulling it out of my pocket. I handed it to him, feeling our fingertips brush. I had to admit, I was kind of attracted to him. It was odd, considering he seemed like the extroverted type, when I was the opposite.

After scanning my schedule his face lit up. "All the same classes." He said, beaming.

"Really?" I asked, feeling the coincidence was pretty large.

"Yup." He nodded, handing me back the paper. I shoved it back into my pocket, not caring if it was wrinkled.

"It may seem like a big coincidence," He said reading my mind. "But there's virtually only three schedules because the office people are lazy. There's the advanced schedule, the normal schedule, and the help schedule. You and I are in the advanced group, thankfully."

Just as he finished talking, the bell rang.

"We better get to class. Walter's pretty lenient, but he likes a good impression."

We walked into the classroom together, getting there before most people. Mr. Hendrickson, or Walter, assigned me a seat, welcoming me to the class.

"Luckily we only started reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a week ago, and with your records I assume you'll catch up."

I nodded, keeping that fact that I had already read that before a secret.

I sat down at my seat, happy to put my backpack down. In all of the chaos this morning, I had forgotten to find my locker and put my stuff away.

Soon, I was joined by another girl. I was seated in the back, most of the row empty besides the girl sitting next to me. She had long brown hair and brown eyes, with a stern look on her face.

"So you're the girl who was kidnapped?" She said, bluntly. I nodded slowly, confused by the malice in her voice.

"I saw you talking to Luke this morning." Her voice was pitiful, like she felt sorry for me. "And I just want you to know, he thinks you're a charity case. Normally I wouldn't be so up front, but I feel like you've been through enough."

"Alright." I said, feeling overwhelmed. I had the overall sense that she was hiding something, and I wanted to know what.

"Lilly, she doesn't want to join the bitch army!" A boy called out, getting some laughter. "Leave the poor girl alone!"

She scoffed. "I would respond to that intelligently, but I feel like your monkey brain wouldn't be able to handle that, Nick."

"Monkey brain?" He laughed like that was the funniest joke he'd ever heard. "Said the girl cheating off of Clementine all last year."

Lilly rolled her eyes as the second bell rang.

"You can mess with Nick all you want." She told me. "You seem like the girl who'd only want sex, and that's Nick in a nutshell."

I looked over at her to see if she was serious, only to make myself upset. She was serious. It seemed rude to say something like that about someone, and Nick didn't seem like a bad guy. Sure, he seemed a bit insecure, but that didn't make him a bad person.

Whole Walter was lecturing the class about the dimension of characters, I felt my eyes wandering around the classroom. Not because Walter was boring or because I wasn't interested in this type of thing, but because I'd gotten this lecture before.

As my eyes wandered, they met Luke's. He also seemed bored, but when he saw me he became more interested. It was probably because I was new and seemed interesting because of my life at the moment. Or maybe he like my brother and wanted to see if I was anything like him.

Lilly caught me glancing and huffed, leaning back. Soon the lecture spun into something I hadn't heard before, and I became enveloped in the discussion. Walter had a way of speaking that was so optimistic and beautiful, so unlike most people today.

By the end of the class I had decided that he was undoubtedly my favorite teacher. Lilly walked past me with a glare, meeting up with another girl. They started whispering loudly, and I heard a little of the conversation.

"I tried to warn her Rebecca."

"Is she gonna be a problem?"

"If I don't deal with her? Yeah. But don't worry, I have a plan."

**Alright, so let me address the Finding Carter issue. Yes, they have the same concept and it's in the walking dead category because the characters are incorporated into the storyline and currently there's no Finding Carter category. ****Someone mentioned the dad hugging thing, and I'll be honest: I haven't seen the show, so I have no idea what's happening or if I'm copying anything. My family's kind of going through a divorce so we're broke and only have Netflix. The only reason I know about the concept is because my friend told me the idea. Anyway, I don't know if I should keep Carver as a threat or not, so if you guys could point me in any type of direction, I'd be appreciative.**

**-Love Bella**


	3. Chapter 3

Until lunch, things were relatively normal. Luke introduced me to Nick, and as I expected, he was a nice guy. His insecurity stuck out like a sore thumb, although I think I was the only person who could tell. It was probably because my psychiatry class had been covering insecurity, and Nick had a lot of the basic symptoms.

"So, I know everybody else is too afraid to ask you this, but how are you feeling?" Asked Matthew, one of Luke's good friends.

I pondered the question for a second, trying to find my emotions.

"Mostly confused." I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. "And frustrated. I can usually read people pretty well, and I never suspected that anything was off with my mom, so that's pretty annoying."

"Well, don't be frustrated." Matthew assured me. "Nobody suspects their mom to be the bad guy."

"I don't necessarily know if she's the bad guy yet." I said, frowning. The others looked puzzled, and obviously wanted an explanation. "For all I know, she had a legitimate reason for doing what she did. Or maybe she's mentally ill and didn't know what she was doing."

"She's right." Bill said, joining the group. Everybody tensed and looked immensely uncomfortable. "The bad guy changes based on perception. To your biological parents, you're abductor is the bad guy. To your abductor, your biological parents are the bad guys. And to you... I don't think you have a bad guy decided quite yet."

In all honesty, I don't think I would ever think of anybody as a 'bad guy'. Unluckily, with my psychiatrist frame of mind, I always figured someone had a reason. The villains in movies usually had a reason or a mental illness or something like that. Sometimes the reason was unjustified, but they don't know that. I was really big on perspective, and that made me too nice sometimes.

"I don't." I said, more comfortable than anybody else here. I still had a bad feeling about him, but he had yet to prove himself as a bad person. "And I won't until I have all of the facts."

"Hey Aurie, wanna go help me get somethin' to drink?" Luke asked, eying Bill. I turned to him and his expression was concerned.

"Sure." I said, standing up. Luke offered his arm to me, and just as I was about to take it, Bill interrupted.

"Why do you need Aurie to help you get a drink?" He asked, acting confused.

"I was gonna offer to buy her a drink." Luke explained, still keeping his arm out.

"That's funny. I was just gonna offer to buy her a drink myself." His gaze shifted to me. "So whose drink do you want, Aurie?"

Luke was giving Bill a death stare, but Bill was staring at me expectantly. It was pretty obvious that this question wasn't just about a soda from the vending machine.

"Actually," I said, hoping Bill would stop trying to make me a prize in a competition. "I'm not that thirsty. But thank you boys."

"Do you need anything?" Bill asked, walking closer towards me.

"Uh, I think I'm good." I wasn't exactly comfortable with how close he was getting, so I stepped back.

Bill was about to say something else, until his eyes wandered last my shoulder and caught something. His face paled, and he backed away slowly

"Hey." I heard Adonis say. I turned around to face him, and his eyes were on Bill. He did not look happy. "What's going on?"

"I was just asking if Aurora needed anything." Bill said, regaining his composure. Adonis' focus went to Luke, and his face wasn't as stern.

"Same thing for you?" He asked, crossing his arms. His tone was very protective, and he reminded me of the brother I'd always wanted.

"No. I was just trying to get her away from all of the questions she keeps gettin' asked. I figured it must get annoying after awhile." By the way Luke was talking to Adonis, I figured they must have known each other or something.

"I appreciate it." Adonis said. He glanced at the rest of the group and then at me. "Hey Aurie, will you talk with me for a sec?"

"Of course." I told him, walking away from the group. "I'll see you in Gym." That was directed at Luke, and he smiled.

When we were quite the distance away from the rest of the group, Adonis stopped.

"I don't want you talking to Carver." Adonis said, a no nonsense look across his face.

"Carver?" I asked, frowning.

"William. Or Bill. Or whatever you call that asshole."

"Luke told me the same thing. Why is he so untrustworthy?"

"He's a blackmailing bastard, that's why." Adonis scoffed. "And he usually gets people in a lot of trouble. I want you away from him."

"I'm trying. He just keeps showing up, trying to talk to me. I think he might like me."

Adonis' face filled up with realization, and he cursed under his breath.

"Look, I can tell that you're the type of person that wants to fix everything, but you can't fix Carver."

"I wasn't even thinking that." I said, but I could feel the wheels turning in my head. What if he just needed someone who didn't think he was a ' bad guy'?

He looked relieved. "Thank God." He said, running his hands through his hair.

"Adonis!" A girl called. I turned around to see a pretty girl come over, her curly hair short and in two tiny ponytails. She looked over at me and smiled. "You must be Aurora." She held out her hand.

I shook it and nodded.

"I'm Clementine, Adonis' girlfriend." I looked over at Adonis questioningly, and he just shrugged. "Adonis hasn't stopped talking about you all day." I chuckled.

"Has he expressed his opinion on my choice of boys?"

"Explicitly." She laughed. "Especially about Carver. Luke, not so much."

"Luke's alright." Adonis mumbled.

The bell rang, interrupting our conversation.

"Ah, well I gotta get to dumb kid history." Adonis said, quickly giving Clementine and I a hug. She looked at me. "I have Gym next. You?"

"Same." I paused. "Are you a junior?" We started walking towards the gymnasium together, everybody else scrambling to get to their classes.

She laughed and shook her head. "Nope. But this school teaches Gym to multiple grades each period. I'm assuming they didn't do that at your old school?"

"No. We also had different classes for different genders."

"You're in for quite the ride then."

I quickly dressed out into the school's gym clothes, green shorts and yellow shirts. The clothes were a little big on me, which was odd because I was five-ten, so even if clothes were a bigger size, they usually fit.

Lilly and Rebecca were also in this class, and their clothes were a little too small.

"Looks like you're less of an elephant than you look." Rebecca said, snickering. I rolled my eyes and didn't pleasure them with a reaction.

"You wanna talk about elephants?" Clementine said, stepping in front of me. "You're the ones with clothes two sizes too small. Come on Aurie, let's go." She grabbed my arm, leading me into the gymnasium.

When we got inside she made her way over to one of her friends, some girl named Bonnie.

"Do you have any other friends in this class?" She asked me. I found Luke and Nick standing in the corner, talking to some younger girl.

"Yeah. I'll be fine, go hang out with your friends." I assured her, not taking my eyes off of them. Clementine followed my eyes, seeing who I was looking at.

"Luke is a really great guy." She told me sincerely. "So is Nick, but he takes more warming up to." After giving me a quick smile she ran to her friend, and I walked over to Luke and Nick, hoping I wasn't interrupting their conversation?

"Speakin' of the devil." Luke said smiling. I raised my eyebrows.

"All good things, I hope?"

Nick laughed and said, "Guess it just depends on what you think is 'good'."

Just as I was about to ask what that meant, we got yelled at.

"Adler, Woods, Eden, Castro, you're not getting points for standing around and talking!" I remembered Nick's last name was Adler, and that Luke's last name was Woods, so Castro must be the girl's last name.

Our teacher, Ms. Moore, told us we were playing basketball and split us up into teams.

I was put on a team with Clementine, Nick, Rebecca, and Matthew. I was the power forward, Matthew the small forward, Rebecca the shooting guard, Nick the center, and Clementine the point guard. I was actually pretty good at basketball, as were Clementine and Nick. Rebecca and Matthew... Not so much.

"Matthew, you gotta block the other team!" Nick yelled, frustrated. Matthew quickly threw his hands straight up, not successfully blocking Alvin. Alvin made the shot, and Matthew gave a dejected look.

Nick, on the other hand, was happy. He was trying to make it look like he was angry, but he was absolutely relieved. As we sat down on the bench, letting another two teams face off, I sat down next to Nick.

"Why are you so intimidated by Matthew?" I asked bluntly. I was never fantastic at small talk, and I figured Nick would care much anyway.

"What?" He exclaimed, looking around to make sure nobody heard me.

"Why are you so intimidated by Matthew?" I repeated, in a quieter tone. Nick looked at me suspiciously, then shut down.

"I'm not."

"And I'm not an idiot. Why?"

"Even if I was," he countered. "It wouldn't be any of your business."

"I'm just trying to help. Haven't you ever heard the saying 'it helps to talk about it?'?"

He sighed, and stared at me warily.

"You're not gonna stop bugging me unless I tell you, huh?"

I thought about it quickly and shook my head. I was as stubborn as a mule.

"Luke."

"What?" I asked, slightly confused. Luke?

"Luke and I have been best friends for years. Then all of the sudden, Matthew shows up and Luke and Matthew are two peas in a pod." he shook his head. "Matthew's just a better guy than me."

His gaze was pointed at the floor and my eyes traveled to Matthew. He was cheering and clapping loudly, repeatedly calling Luke's name out. He was showing a lot of affection for a friend, and I couldn't believe I hadn't realized it before.

"Nick." catching Nick's attention, I nodded my head in Matthew's direction. "Does that look like he's cheering for a friend."

"No..."

"Has Matthew ever had a girlfriend?"

"I don't know." He said, scratching the back of his head. "This is the first year he's been here?"

"What about Luke?"

He looked over at me, his face asking, 'Are you serious?'.

"Seriously!" I groaned, a bit frustrated. Honestly, I could tell Luke wasn't gay, but I wanted to know if he was experienced in the dating department. I kinda lacked there.

He laughed a little, then answered somberly. "Yeah. He dated Jane Moore, Mrs. Moore's daughter. That's why she puts him on the un-active team."

I looked over to see what he meant, and quickly figured it out. Besides Luke, almost everybody on his team was just standing there. There was one kid who was trying, but he wasn't succeeding. In my eyes, that kid was better than any of the kids who weren't trying, good or not.

"Maybe he's bi?" I asked. I mean, he seemed like the kind of guy who was always dating someone, and if he'd only dated one girl...

"I really don't think so. Just because he hasn't dated girls, doesn't mean he doesn't like 'em. He asked a bunch of them out freshman year, but I think all of the rejections got to him."

I frowned a little. Luke was cute and seemingly charming. Why would all of the girls reject him?

"Then you have nothing to worry about." I said, glad I had solved one problem. He glanced between Luke and Matthew.

"You're right." He said, sitting up a little straighter. "Thanks Aurie."

I smiled. "I'm just glad to help."

"Of course Aurie's glad to help." Rebecca said, venom in her voice. "She's got a lot of things she'd like to 'help' you with, Nick."

Just as I was about to tell her what she could do with her comment, Mrs. Moore approached.

"Ladies, do we need to send you to the office?" She asked, hands on her hips. Her short blonde hair sticking to her face with sweat. Unlike most gym teachers, she actually did physical things while teaching us.

"Not me." Rebecca said, her hands flying up. "Aurie, maybe. It seems she didn't get the booklet on abstinence at Argonaut High School."

Mrs. Moore looked over at me sternly. "We do have an abstinence rule, and even if you don't follow it you'll need keep your affairs to yourself."

I looked at her in disbelief. "You're just going to believe her?" I asked, feeling like I was a bit cheated. I didn't know why she didn't like me already. Or it didn't seem like she liked me.

"I've seen who you hang out with, and they're not the best role models when it comes to abstinence."

"She just didn't know Molly." Rebecca said, fake sympathy in her voice.

"Unlike Walter, I prefer to be called by my professional name." Mrs. Moore said. She turned to me. "I've seen your grades, and don't let the people at this school ruin things for you. You have the potential to be something great, and I don't want to see that go to waste."

* * *

The rest of the day was quick, nothing too exciting to report. The only class I had with Bill was chemistry. I wasn't his lab partner or anything, but he kept staring at me the whole class period.

"Why does he keep staring at you?" Sarah, my lab partner, asked nervously. Sarah was who Nick and Luke had been talking too, and I liked her already.

"Apparently he has an interest in me." I told her, shrugging.

"Lucky." She said, her tone jealous. "No boys ever have an interest in me."

"It's just because their teenage boys. Most teenage boys are only interested in sex, and when there's an intelligent and beautiful girl-like you-, boys are intimidated because they don't want to fall in love."

She looked at me with wide eyes. "You sound just like a grown up!" Then her face fell again. "But you're smart and pretty, and Luke and Carver like you."

Luke liked me? Ignoring that comment, I tried to focus on Sarah's words, not wanting to be ditzy. "That's just because I have a big chest."

Sarah looked down at her own chest and frowned. "They're the same size they were when I was twelve." She said, disappointed.

"It's better than having a really big chest." I argued. "When I'm old, these things will sag so much. Yours will be nice for a really long time."

I then analyzed the conversation. Were we really talking about boob sizes? With Sarah, we had a few more conversations like that before the period ended. I felt like a teenager, and was relieved.

After school, I caught up with Clementine and Adonis, before they reached the library.

"So we just wait at the library for three hours?" I asked, not really upset. The library had books and Internet, two of my favorite things.

"Yep." Adonis said, popping the p. "Unless you want to get a job. There's a few options on Main Street. Clem would know all about it."

"I work at the ice cream shop, but I took the last job opening... I think Swensons, Heins and Company, and Moon n Stars have available jobs though." Clem was deep in thought, trying to think.

"I have no idea what any of those stores sell." I said glancing between their faces. Clem was still concentrating, so Adonis informed me.

"Swensons is a shoe store. There's some clothes there, but nobody really goes there for them. Heins and Company is a used book, movie, and video game store. It's pretty cool, but they don't really have anything up to date. And Moon n Stars is a tarot store. Clem wanted to work there, but they didn't have any opening when she was looking for a job."

"You'll have to skip Moon n Stars." Said Clem. "They don't hire anybody under eighteen. So that narrows it down to two choices."

"Alright. I think I'll go check them out." I said, smiling. I also wanted to leave them alone, because I had a feeling they wanted some 'alone time'. I had no idea where that would take place, and I didn't want to find out.

Main Street was cool, the shops all small and quaint. I got an application from both Heins and Company and Swensons, although Swensons seemed more enthusiastic about a seventeen year old wanting to work there.

After getting a lemonade at a cafe, I made my way back to the library, not surprised to see Clem and Adonis gone. I sat down at a table and filled out both of the applications. Although Swensons was more 'teenager-y', I felt like I was more qualified to work at Heins and Company. Either way, I'd be happy to have a job.

About an hour later, Adonis showed up, Clem not with him.

"Where's Clementine?" I asked. They seemed inseparable.

"She had to go work her shift." He said sadly. They seemed more serious about their relationship than most kid. Their age, and I was glad. Although I didn't know her very well, I really liked Clementine.

"So..." Adonis said, obviously holding his tongue.

"Just ask." I said, curious about what he wanted to know. Nobody in my family had really asked me about my experience, and it worried me a little.

"Did you have any other brothers or sisters?"

"Yeah." I nodded, feeling darkness sweep over me. "I had a little sister. She went missing two years ago. She just didn't come home from school one- oh crap!" I said, realizing something while I was in the middle of talking.

I ran outside and called Jolene, not believing how stupid I had been.

"What's wrong?" Adonis asked frantically, obviously worried.

_"Hello?" _

"Is this Jolene?"

_"Yes. Aurora?"_

"Yeah. Could you come over to the public library real quick? I think I have some more information."

_"Of course. I'll be there in about ten minutes."_

I flopped onto the bench, burying my face in my hands_._

"Oh Sandra." I exclaimed, starting to feel sick. "I'm such an idiot!"

"What's happening?" Adonis asked, annoyance lining his voice.

How could I be so stupid. After ignoring Adonis for a few minutes I got a poke on the shoulder.

"Aurora?" Jolene said. I looked up at her and jumped to my feet, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

"Okay, can you tell me if you recognize this girl?" I asked, going through my pictures. I finally found one where you could see Sandra's face clearly, and handed the phone to her. She studied the screen and then handed it back to me.

"She looks familiar, but I don't know who she is. Can you send me that picture?"

I quickly complied, hoping that my gut instinct was wrong. She pulled out her phone and began texting. After a few taps of her fingers, she called someone.

"Chuck? Hello, it's Jolene. Did you get that picture I just sent you? Great! Well, I was wondering if you could check through some adolescent files that fit her description. Thank you." There was a long pause from Jolene, assumingly because the man hadn't found her file yet.

"Heather Sadley? Oh my. Well thank you Chuck. See you at the office."

She ended the phone call, and looked at me.

"Heather Sadley?" I asked, a lump in my throat.

"Yes. She was found murdered two years ago. Someone had stabbed her, but hadn't left any evidence. Her case was in the 'unsolved' cabinet."

I felt my heart slow, and tried to catch my breathing. The woman I had lived with for fourteen years had killed the girl I thought was my sister.

**Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've just been stuck in a deep abyss of depression, and all of my attempts at writing have been rather dark. This was as light as I could go, but I hope it was alright. Also, writing about Nick ripping my heart out of my chest and forcing myself to eat it. So, I have a question. Was anyone's mind changed about Luke after episode four? I didn't see the logic behind hating him, so I would like to see it from someone else's point of view. Anyway, please favorite, follow, review, any of that. **

**-Love Bella.**


	4. Chapter 4

"How did you not know she wasn't your real sister?" Jolene asked. We were now sitting in her office, because I had told her about what had happened.

"Phoebe told me that her sister had died, and we were inheriting her daughter."

"And you didn't ask any questions?" She asked skeptically.

"No." I said, feeling inferior. "To my knowledge, she'd never lied to me before, so I'd figured she hadn't been lying to me then."

"Even though she didn't look anything like you or Phoebe?"

"Nope. There are plenty of families that don't look anything alike, so I just guessed we weren't any different than any other families that didn't look alike."

"Alright. Thank you for the information, and if we find Phoebe, we'll contact Annabelle and Ace."

Just as quickly as our meeting had began, it ended.

Should I still go see Phoebe on the twenty-fourth? Or should I just tell Jolene about it? What if she killed me when I went to talk to her?

As I walked outside, I was enveloped in a giant hug.

"Oh, sweetie!" Annabelle exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry that you had to live with that _murderer _for so long!"

The word murderer made my blood run cold, and I stiffened. Annabelle felt this and let me go, stepping backwards.

"Sorry. I know this whole experience must be overwhelming, and I'm certainly not helping"

"It's alright." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm your daughter, and daughters are supposed to hug their mother, right?"

She smiled at me, trying to hide her worry. She nodded, the tears still in her eyes. Ace put his arm around her, saying soothing words. Adonis, who had been silent this whole time, gave me a quick hug.

"I'm glad you weren't murdered." He said in a husky voice. I could tell he was trying to be manly, and laughed a little bit.

We went home and ate and watched a little TV, and went to bed. Things were normal. I had a family, who loved and cared about me. And even though they weren't sure, I loved and cared for them too.

The next week was pretty similar to my first day, the only change was that Lilly and Rebecca were quiet. That made me cautious and most of the time I was eying them warily.

"Would you like to go get a drink with me?" Bill asked, interrupting Luke's comment about school lunches.

I assumed he was talking to me, so I turned around to face him. Sure enough, he was staring at me, a smile on his face.

"Sure Bill." I said, standing up. Luke was staring daggers, and everybody was quiet. I noticed Bill just seemed to do that to people, with his intimidating nature. I hoped that I could set him straight of we were alone, and that maybe he wouldn't follow me any more.

He walked me over to the vending machine, his grip on my upper arm. He let my arm go to pull some quarters out of his pocket, and faced me.

"What type of soda do you like?" He asked, rolling the quarters in his palm.

"Mountain Dew." I paused. "Can I see those quarters really quick?"

He frowned, but opened up his hand and stretched it out to me. I grabbed them and turned them over, looking at the the designs on the back.

"Ooh, you got a Nevada quarter." I rubbed my thumb across the horses, surprised I had found it. Ot had been a few years since the last time I saw a Nevada quarter, and it had remained my favorite to this day.

"Do you like quarters?" He asked, still slightly confused.

"Yeah." I said, enthralled. There was also am Alaskan quarter, the one with the bear. "I used to collect them. Actually got up to all fifty states once."

"Then keep the ones you like. I have plenty more." I looked up at him and smiled, giving him back the rest of them. He bought a Mountain Dew and a Squirt, and handed the Mountain Dew to me.

"Wanna sit down with me?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. "By the tree? You know, where we first met."

"Why not?" I asked, glancing back at Luke. He was giving me these puppy dog eyes, and I really wanted to go sit with him instead. But, hopefully this would be the last time Bill bothered me.

We sat down, Bill taking a large drink of his soda. I followed suit, and he eyed me.

"So, I have to talk to you." He said, shifting his whole body towards me. I set down my soda and faced him completely. He smiled, seemingly pleased.

"See, you're a polite girl. Now days, girls are always disrespectful, judging somebody before they actually know somebody." His eyes went over to Luke's group, then back at me.

"I know they've said a lot of things about me, you're brother too. But you still talk to me, and you don't act like I'm a criminal. Why you hang out with those degenerates is beyond my knowledge. Something else I noticed is that even though everybody acts like I have the plague, Luke is a god around here. Nobody seems to care about what he did."

"What Luke did?" I was curious. Mrs. Moore, or Molly, had also implied Luke wasn't who he acted like.

"Yeah. With Jane Moore? He and Jane had a little 'fun', during one of his football games. He was the running back, and instead of doing his job, he messed around with Jane. And he and Jane didn't even stay together after their little fiasco, so it wasn't even meaningful."

"The only people who know if what they did was meaningful, are Luke and Jane themselves." Bill was going on and on about how rude and disrespectful people were, but he was acting that way.

"We're getting beside the point." His tone was now frosty, and I could tell he was getting frustrated with me. "What I'm trying to tell you, is be careful with who you associate with."

"I'll keep that in mind." I stood up, grabbing my soda. "Thanks for the drink and the quarter."

While walking back to the table, I felt his eyes boring into my back. I sat down next to Nick, and it seemed like he had just finished telling Luke something. Luke noticed my presence and spoke up.

"Do you mind leavin' Nick, Aurie, and I alone for a second?" He asked the rest of the table. They all looked a bit annoyed, but complied. Luke and Nick turned their focus to me.

"I heard about last week." Nick blurted out, sweating like a pig. I looked at Luke, to see he had a look of nervousness about him.

"How?" I tried to remember if they were at the library When my meltdown had occurred.

"My uncle, Pete, works at the police station, and he asked me to look out for you." Nick said, obviously embarrassed.

"And he told me." Luke cut in.

"I hope your not mad." Nick started biting his thumb.

"I'm not. Just try not to tell anybody else." Nick sighed in relief.

"I won't. I promise." I smiled, and I held out my pinkie.

"Pinkie swear?" I said, my grin growing larger. Nick laughed.

"I see Sarah has rubbed off on you." He remarked, intertwining our pinkies. Thankfully, it wasn't one of those moments where our hands touched and I realized I had been in love with Nick all along. I mean, having a crush on Nick and Luke would be a real mess.

Gym came along, and Rebecca and Lilly still kept quiet. Fantastic. They kept staring at me, studying my every move. I was scared. I had no idea what they were planning, but they were planning something.

"Today we will be running the mile!" Mrs. Moore announced. Most of the class groaned and whined, many whispering about pretending to be sick. "Luckily for you, it will be the partner mile. I have decided that since this period has the best grade average, you can pick your partners. Be aware of your privilege."

Everybody was scrambling to find a partner, most people going for the most athletic kids. Clementine found her way to me, a smile on her face.

"Found a partner yet?" She asked, her hands on her hips.

"Nope." I admitted, hoping she didn't either.

"Good." She grabbed my wrist. "'Cause I don't either."

"What about Bonnie?" I asked, wondering if she was absent.

"She wanted to be paired up with Mike." She replied, rolling her eyes. She jerked her head over to them, and I could see them talking. Even though I couldn't hear the context, they were obviously flirting.

"Young love." Clementine sighed mockingly. She then turned serious. "Speaking of love, how are things going?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who do you like more? Luke or Carver?"

"Definitely Luke. I don't even like Bill, and I might have a crush on Luke."

"Good." She said, satisfied. "Now I can reassure Adonis."

"What?" I exclaimed. "You can't do that! What if he decides to tell Luke?"

"Then Luke will ask you out." She shrugged. "I can tell he likes you, he's just scared after what happened with Jane. She kind of broke his heart."

So it wasn't meaningless. Not to Luke anyway.

"Luke doesn't like me." I sighed.

"Whatever." Clem said, rolling her eyes.

Clem ran the first lap, running faster than everybody. The only person even close was Luke, who was a few feet behind her. She slapped my arm and I started running, as fast as I could. Unfortunately I had forgotten to put my hair up, so it was flying everywhere.

I knew I was still ahead of everybody, but I didn't know how ahead. I was too focused on not tripping to do anything else.

I finished the lap, and Clem looked surprised, but quickly took my place. I sat down to catch my breath, and was joined by a heaving Nick.

"You're fast." He complimented, a small smile on his face. "Luke and I are usually way ahead of everybody at this point."

"Clem beat Luke." I pointed out, trying to shift the glory off of myself.

"Clem's faster than a bat out of hell, but Clem and I are pretty even when when it comes to running, and you beat me by a long shot." He took a drink of his water bottle and offered some to me. I graciously took it, seeing Clem about to cross the finish line.

"I gotta go." I said standing up. "I'd get ready if I were you."

He stood up, setting his water bottle on the bench. "I'm born ready. Hopefully I can at least catch up to you this time."

Clem passed and I ran. After a few seconds I looked back and saw Nick a few feet behind me. I slowed a little, just enough for him to catch up to me.

"We run as fast as we can in three?" I asked, having to gasp my words. He nodded.

"Three." He exclaimed. His voice wasn't much better.

"Two." I said, readying my legs.

"One!" We both shouted, and I ran, faster than ever. I was ahead of Nick by about a fEw feet, but began losing some of my speed. Soon Nick was only a foot behind me, his endurance better than mine. By the time we were to the finish line, he was just barely behind me.

Both Clem and Luke ran, but Clem was obviously faster. Luke was catching up though, and I figured with his sport history, his endurance must be better than Clem and I's together. Nick grabbed his water bottle and almost drank it all, leaving two drinks worth. He handed the bottle to me, and stretched. I finished it off, feeling a bit guilty.

When Clem and Luke made their way back around, Luke was slightly beating Clementine. She looked worn out, and I was glad this was her last lap. I looked over at Nick, who was looking at me in determination.

They passed the finish line and we sprinted. I was beating Nick for a while, but eventually he caught up to me. It was going to be very close, and I wanted to win. Contrary to popular belief, I was very competitive.

Then I spotted the finish line, and I saw Nick gain some space. I then parted with all forms of thought, and did the most idiotic thing I'd ever done when running a mile. I leaped.

I actually passed the finish line before Nick, but regretted the decision when I hit the ground. I scraped almost the whole left side of me, tearing a lot of skin on my upper leg and arm.

Hearing others coming toward me, I weakly stood up and made my way to the grass. He girls all backed away screaming, but the boys and Mrs. Moore all ran forward to help me.

"What were you thinking?" Mrs. Moore asked incredulously.

"I wanted to win?" I joked.

Luke looked at me, but when he saw my arm, he paled. I frowned and looked down at it. There was a giant mess a blood, skin, and asphalt.

"It's so vivid." I said, lightly touching my arm. The deep red color transferred to my fingers, and I studied the blood. I was fascinated, but I also didn't feel right.

"Someone take her to the office!" I vaguely heard Mrs. Moore say. All I could focus on was the blood. I felt myself being picked up, and quickly looked over to see who had done it. It was Luke, and he looked terrified. He started running, despite all of the running he just did, his endurance was strong alright.

My eyes went back to the blood, and I started to feel dizzy. The world turned fuzzy around the edges, slowly turning black. The last thing I could see before passing out was the bright red of my blood, the black asphalt trying to block it out of my sight.

**Carver or Luke... Not a very trying question, I know. other than questions that don't need to be asked, how was it? Sorry about the time skip, I just thought it was the smallest amount of time I could go without making everything seem extremely , I've** **been on a Malcolm in the Middle marathon** **kick lately, and I'm almost done! Does anyone have any other show suggestions like it? Please favorite, follow, or review!**

**-Love Bella**


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you fuckin' crazy?"

I had to admit, that wasn't exactly what I expected to hear when I first woke up. But I guess Luke had a point.

"I don't think so, although crazy people don't usually know when they're crazy. So maybe I am." I checked my surroundings. I was in a hospital, Annabelle, Ace, Adonis, Clem, Luke, and Nick by my bed.

"You sound just like your father." Annabelle said, exasperated. He chuckled a little, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Maybe, but she got her competitive tendencies from you." She huffed, looking frustrated.

"I'm so sorry." Nick blurted. "It was my fault and I really didn't mean to, but I'm so sorry about your arm."

"It's not your fault Nick." I said gently. "You're not the one who decided to dive into asphalt. The only thing that's your fault is that you reminded me of my arm."

My arm was sore, and I could tell I had gotten stitches. There was also the faint burning of fading hydrogen peroxide, but I was much more used to that.

"Did I miss any important homework?" I asked Luke, trying to distract myself.

"Yeah, Mrs. Everett wants us to watch the news, try to discover patterns in the crimes." He shrugged, then turned to Clem.

"It must suck having a mom and dad as a teacher." Nick said, finally losing the redness in his cheeks. I frowned.

"Mr. and Mrs. Everett are your parents?" I asked. Mrs. Everett was our Journalism teacher, and Mr. Everett our history.

"Yep. Well, adopted parents. Lee adopted me when I was eight, after my parents died. A few weeks later, Carley showed up, trying to get us to do a news thing. Eventually Lee and Carley started spending more time together, until they finally started dating. It only took them six months to get engaged, and four months after that to get married.

"Carley decided that she wouldn't get to spend enough time with us with her reporter job, so she got her teaching degree and started teaching here about two years ago." Clem seemed really happy, like she was glad the way this turned out.

"That's so sweet." I mused. They must be a very happy couple. Most couples who had the same job and saw each other almost all the time divorced, or at least didn't have a good marriage.

We all talked a little more, and it was clear that everybody thought I was an idiot. About every two sentences, someone would exclaim, 'I still can't believe you dove!'. Honestly, I couldn't either.

Things were friendly, social even. I'd never been social, ever. It was kind of nice actually, and I couldn't believe how happy I was. Then my thoughts went back to Phoebe, and darkened. Everybody noticed my mood drop, and things were considerably quieter. Still nice, but not as loud and happy.

* * *

My arranged meeting with Phoebe was arriving rapidly, too soon to ignore. I was still torn on telling Annabelle and Ace, or just going by myself. I hated to say it, but I was scared. Terrified. Sandra played in my mind, over and over again.

Eventually I decided not to tell Annabelle and Ace. At least not until I knew the facts. I still didn't want to go alone though, and had a hard time trying to figure out who to ask.

"Hey Aurie." Luke said, nervously. Since Nick was absent today, Luke and I were alone in Gym class, Sarah either trying to get me alone with Luke, or not interested of Nick wasn't here. I could tell she had a crush on Nick, and a big one at that.

"Hey Luke." We were on the same volleyball team, I the setter and he the outside hitter. Before answering he had to hit the ball, the ball flying higher than Mrs. Moore liked. He wasn't really great at keeping the ball in the 'control zone'. Thankfully it wasn't out of bounds, so we didn't lose a point.

"Are you workin' on Tuesday?" He asked, obviously not interested in this game. Last week I learned that he had been on the football team last year, and was quite the natural athlete. Apparently volleyball didn't hold his interests as well as baseball, football, or basketball. Either that or he was distracted.

"Nope. I work on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays." I had gotten the job over at Heins and Company, and things were going pretty well. I had never seen anybody under the age of forty enter the shop, but it was a really nice store. Plus, I got discounts on the movies, books, and games there.

"Great! Uh, I was wonderin' if maybe you had any plans at seven, 'cause that movie you were talkin' about comes out on redbox, and I figured I could rent it and maybe we you could come over and watch it with me?" Did he just ask me out on a date?

"I'd- oh no." Of course, he had to pick Tuesday. "Um, I can't really-"

"It's alright." He interrupted, and although he had a smile on his face, it was tight lipped.

"Really, I'd love to! I'm just busy." I really liked Luke and didn't want to screw anything up.

"Okay. Wednesday?" He asked, brightening up once again.

I was about to say yes again, but what if I didn't survive Tuesday? Or got kidnapped again?

"I'll try." I finally answered. Should I ask Luke? He would help right? But I didn't want to put him in a position where he didn't really want to help but felt like he had to. Before I could make a solid decision, he noticed.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. I set the ball quickly, trying to avoid the question. I wasn't really a great liar.

"Fine." I said, paying more attention to the ball than I had the entire game. He rolled his eyes.

"Whats wrong?"

"Nothing. Just enjoying an exhilarating game of volleyball."

"I'll scream if you don't tell me." I looked over and surely enough, he was completely serious.m

"Okay, fine!" I said, he crossed his arms in satisfaction. "I'll tell you after class."

He gave me this big, goofy smile, the kind a little kid gives when he's right. Why did I like him?

After Gym was over with, Luke rushed over to me with an expectant look.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone." I whispered, trying to keep out quiet.

"I promise not to tell." He said, crossing his heart. Bill, who was a few lockers ahead of mine, gave me a suspicious look. I ignored it, and delved into my situation.

"She's a murderer!" He said, almost losing his whisper. "What if she hurts you?"

I shrugged. "I have to give her a chance to explain herself."

"I'm goin'." He looked determined, very determined.

"No you're not!" I exclaimed. Oops, broke my own rule. He looked around cautiously and then back at me.

"Yes I am." He was calmer than me, oddly enough. "What if someone figures out that you're missin' and looks for you? And when they find you, even if your mom ain't there, what's your excuse for bein' at the school at midnight?"

"I wanted to get to know the school's layout better?" I joked.

"If I was there, we could just say that we wanted to hang out in private. Unless that sounds too... date-y?" He looked embarrassed, but I could tell he was serious.

"You did just ask me out on a date, and I did say yes. So I guess we're in the beginning stages of dating."

"That's permission if I ever heard it." He said, a smirk across his face. I playfully shoved his shoulder, and we made our way to our next class. I couldn't help but notice that Lilly, Rebecca, and Bill were standing in a group, whispering and looking at Luke and I the whole time.

* * *

"Are you nervous?" Luke asked, his hands in his pockets. I could tell he was, but he had been nervous the rest of last week and yesterday.

"Yes, no, maybe, I don't know?" I said sarcastically. I hadn't seen Malcolm in the Middle for a while, and I wondered if he'd get the reference.

"Do ya need me to repeat the question?" He said, a slight smile forming. I was glad to take some of the anxiety away from him. Honestly I hadn't been all that nervous until Luke started freaking out.

We sat by the tree for a few minutes, barely any space between us.

"Are you okay?" I asked him softly. I wasn't used to being the touch one. He nodded jerkily, and looked over at me.

"I'm just nervous. What if your mom ain't who she seemed to be? What if she tries to hurt you?" His voice was shaking a little. To reassure him, I grabbed his hand.

"You'll be okay, and I'll be okay. If anything gets out of hand, we both have cellphones so we can call someone." His hand tightened around mine, as he looked at something over my shoulder. I followed his eyes to see Phoebe.

I stood up quickly, my stomach muscles tightening. The pit in my stomach was gaping, my anxiety going through the roof. She had died her hair red, and was wearing overalls. The Phoebe I knew wouldn't be caught dead in them.

"Melanie?" She said, a smile on her face. She ran over and hugged me, rendering me frozen. She stiffly pulled back, her eyes narrowing on Luke.

"Who's this?" She asked warily.

"I'm Luke ma'am." He didn't hold out his hand, odd behavior for him.

"Phoebe. Could you mind letting me speak to my daughter. _Alone._"_  
_

He looked over to me for an answer, and I nodded. He walked a few feet away, not hearing distance, but close enough to see if anything was going down.

"I missed you." She said fondly, grabbing a lock of my hair. She ran her thumb over it. "Just like Ace's." She whispered, barely audible.

"You know Ace?" I asked, frowning.

"Of course!" She laughed. "He's your father!"

This was getting very confusing very fast.

"Yes..." I paused. "And Annabelle's my mother."

Her smile transformed into a scowl. "Not that whore. Pretended you were hers the whole time."

"Well, I am hers." I said, my voice cracking. I was nervous. Phoebe had always been light hearted and happy, never acting anything like this.

"No, no you're not! Who took care of you for fourteen years? Me. Who couldn't even take care of you for four? Annabelle." She stepped closer, quickly becoming more hostile. I glanced over at Luke, who was standing right next to us now.

"Stay out of this!" She roared, livid. I had never seen her angry, but I could now tell why Sandra had been killed. Her and Phoebe had been fighting all week, and over a boy Sandra wanted to date.

I put my hand on my back pocket, reaching for my phone. When Phoebe turned back to me and saw my face, her own softened.

"Don't be scared." She whispered. "But we've got to go home. You can't let your mother corrupt you, like she did with Ace. You just can't."

It was obvious that Phoebe had dated Ace, and that she was obsessed. She had to have some type of disorder, and a strong one at that.

"I can't." I said. "They're family." And it was the truth. In just this week I had felt more at home and at ease than ever. I had especially connected with Adonis, and I couldn't leave him. I pulled out my phone, Ace's number on the screen.

She grabbed the phone and threw it on the ground, creating a crack in the screen.

"You are mine. I don't care if they've brainwashed you, I'll get you back to normal." Her tone was not hostile, more motherly this time. She grabbed my upper arm, making me wince, and pulled me into a hug. I did not return the hug, but she didn't seem to notice.

Just as Luke was pulling out his phone, we heard a loud car pull into the schools parking lot. Ace's Camaro, no doubt. Phoebe pulled back and ran, as fast as she could. I frantically looked over at Luke, wondering what to do. I couldn't really tell him that I was here to talk to Phoebe, and as much as I would like to kiss Luke, I'd like to do it on my own terms.

He gently pulled me down so we were sitting by the tree and grabbed my hand. We were sitting like we had been before Phoebe showed up, and I had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

"Aurora?" Ace called out, once he saw us. I jerked to my feet, pretending I hadn't heard him pull up. Seeing Luke, he walked over here more quickly.

"Luke Woods?" He asked, putting his arm around me. Luke nodded, a bit nervous. My dad studied him for a second and said,

"Next time you want to see my daughter outside of school, it will be in my home, in my presence. Understand?"

He nodded jerkily, and waved at me, before running to the parking lot. I hid a smile at his performance, considering it was pretty good. Maybe Luke should be an actor. He certainly had the looks for it. Even the name. Luke Woods.

I turned to Ace nervously, pretending I was embarrassed. I figured most girls in this situation would be, but my dad was just smiling.

"You know the best part of you dating?" He asked, walking us to his car. I shook my head. "Getting to terrify your boyfriends."

I chuckled. "You have a very schadenfreude sense of humor, don't you?"

"Do you even know what schadenfreude means?"

"Yes, I do watch the Simpsons." I joked. "It means receiving pleasure from someone else's pain."

"Did you really learn that from the Simpsons?"

"Of course not!" I laughed. "I used to take a psychiatry class, and that was something we focused on for a month."

"That makes more sense. Alright, we got to hurry."

"Why?"

"I told your mother that I took you out to get ice cream."

"And she believed it?"

"Yes, but she's very tired so we're gonna have to go through some questioning tomorrow. Thankfully I bought her a present while out looking for you, so we can just tell her we wanted to give her a surprise."

I looked over at him. He had a kind of mischievous look, one that Adonis wore often.

"You mean you're not telling Annabelle about this?" I asked.

"You're mother would throw a fit. She still disapproves of Adonis dating Clem, and they've been dating for three years. Says boyfriends and girlfriends are just distractions in high school."

I smiled at him, feeling happy he would cover for me. Then I remembered Phoebe, and how she had almost taken me away from him again. I loved my father, and I wasn't going to be taken away from him.

"Thanks dad." I said, giving him a hug. His arms quickly wrapped around me, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

"I think this is the first time you've ever hugged me." He pondered. I nodded into his chest, and chuckled.

"It's also the first time I've called you dad."

"Not true." He said. I pulled back and saw him smiling happily. I frowned.

"When did I call you dad?"

"Dad was your first word." I rolled my eyes and got into the car, happy to be with my real dad, and happy to be going to my real mom.

* * *

"We've got to tell you something." Lilly said, Rebecca slowly following her. I was alone in my locker, Luke at his own talking to Nick.

"What?" I asked, quickly shutting my locker door. They had no business seeing what was in there.

"We just wanted to warn you about Luke." Rebecca was using a condescending tone, and it was sort of annoying me.

"Look, we know this isn't our business, but Luke is going around the school saying that you guys, um, 'sealed the deal'. Apparently last night."

I rolled my eyes, and crossed my arms over my chest. Did I look like an idiot to them?

"Look, I know you guys were planning something and that you guys aren'tthe greatest masterminds in history, but I really was expecting something better. Next thing you know, Bill is gonna show up and say 'I told you so.'."

"Actually Bill says that Luke is lying out of his ass, but the rest of us are convinced that you're the kind of girl who fucks on the first date." Lilly smirked.

"Alright. Thanks for the advice, but you can go now." I said. Amateurs. They shrugged and walked away. They really needed to work on their skills. Since they didn't seem put down, I was assuming they were going to start working on a another plan. After seeing this plan though, I wasn't all that worried.

Luke and Nick walked over, Nick seeming more depressed than normal. Figuring it wasn't my business, I didn't say anything.

"Why were Lilly and Rebecca talking to you?" Nick asked. His tone was more hostile than usual, but I ignored it.

"Trying to spread rumors." I replied, waving it off.

"What kind?" Luke asked

"They said you were going around telling everybody that we had sex."

Luke and Nick both looked at me worriedly.

"You don't believe them right?" Nick asked, staring at me intently.

"Of course not!" I exclaimed. "If you were, I'd be getting a lot more dirty looks. Plus, I know they've been planning all week. They're kind of crappy evil geniuses."

"This ain't it." Luke warned. "They might not seem it, but they're smart. They have a knack for ruinin' relationships, especially mine."

"Maybe I'm just too smart for them." I joked. I nudged them towards the next class, knowing the bell was about to ring.

"Just don't underestimate them." Nick said. "'Cause if you do, you're in for a world of hurt."

**Okay, so I'll be adding another story soon and I'm a bit conflicted on names. Please vote for your favorite out of these: Harper, Parker, Hadley, Finley, and Alabama. In other news, school is starting soon. Good, great, grand, wonderful! Unfortunately, that means that I won't be able to update as much, but hopefully I can write longer chapters. So I was watching the walking dead (the show), because of the suggestion by Driftingawayfromreality. It's surprisingly good! I hadn't watched it because I was afraid it wouldn't be as good as the game or the comics, and I was pleasantly surprised. Daryl is an amazing character, and I'm really trying not to turn him into a Sarita, who I also miss dearly. Anyway please favorite, follow, review, all that crap.**

**-Love Bella**


	6. Chapter 6

"Walter?"

Walter turned around, puzzled.

"Over here!" I called out, waving my arms around. He spotted me, smiled, and walked over to me, a large book in his hands.

"Aurie, I didn't know you worked here." He stated. The book in his hands was called Unteachable.

"Do you have a rowdy student or something?" I joked. He shook his head with a small smile.

"Like you wouldn't believe." He sighed. I rolled my eyes, but put my hand out and he handed me the book. I quickly ran it up, and remembered the name for later. We exchanged quick goodbyes before he left, leaving me to see what the book was about. I could probably help if I knew what the problem was.

It took a while for me to find it, but once I did, I was surprised. It was about some girl having an affair with her film teacher, so I think it's safe to say I was rightfully concerned. Was Walter having an affair with a student? And if he was, with who?

Unfortunately, I didn't have much more time to ponder the predicament.

"Aurie! How fortunate is this." Bill said grandly. He was holding this big bouquet of golden flowers, and he set them down on the counter.

"They're for you." He said proudly. "They match your eyes."

"Bill, you've gotta stop this." I said, pushing the flowers towards him. His face went dark for a moment before he regained control.

"Does Luke get you flowers?" He asked. Before I could answer, he did. "No. If he don't get you flowers now, is he gonna get you flowers later?"

"It's possible." I said, agitated. I was a fairly easygoing person, but Bill knew how to push my buttons. "And even if he doesn't ever give me flowers, I won't care. I don't need, or even particularly want, them."

His lips tightened, but before he could say something rotten, Adonis walked in.

"Your shift's up, sis." He said, staring daggers into Bill. Bill kept his mouth shut while I packed up my stuff and left. Thank goodness.

"Was he bothering you?" Adonis asked as we left the store. I shrugged, and opened the door to his new car. He had gotten it for his birthday a few days ago, and had not complained about driving me once.

"If he does, let me know. I'll kick his ass." I smiled a little, turning up the radio. It was some song about big butts, and although not mentally stimulating, it was catchy. Adonis abruptly turned it off.

"Hey!" I frowned, crossing my arms. He gave me an incredulous look.

"You like that shit?" He asked. I didn't say anything, and I think he got the message. "Sorry. I can't handle it."

I smiled. "It's okay. I don't mind the silence."

"This is why I like you better than Mom."

* * *

"This game is kicking my ass." Luke complained, hands on his knees.

"Because your team isn't doing anything." I noted, staring at the other guys just standing around. I, on the other hand, had Nick, Alvin, a Russian exchange student named Arvo, and some girl named Edith. Besides Arvo, we definitely had the best team, and I felt a little bad.

I ws passed the ball, ending the conversation with Luke. I made sure to keep my stances correct, as I knew Luke was watching me. Even though he hasn't gotten me flowers, which I hadn't wanted anyway, he had become a lot more affectionate since we had started dating.

"You guys are disgusting." Nick stated. Like pulled me in for a hug and a kiss on the forehead, causing Nick to groan. I just smiled while Luke laughed. Thankfully, gym class was over.

"Rebecca, you're starting to get fat." It was the Russian guy's sister, and you wouldn't believe how straightforward she was. Despite knowing how thin Rebecca was, I glanced at her to see what she was talking about. Although Rebecca's arms and legs were still thin, she had a little bump starting to grow.

"It's just stress!" Rebecca exclaimed, flustered. Her cheeks were growing red, and she quickly pulled her shirt on. The rest of us quickly averted our eyes. Well, except for Clementine. Her eyes were wide.

"Is she pregnant?" She asked. I shrugged, but I had been thinking the same thing.

* * *

"Aurie?" Luke waved his hands in front of my face. I quickly came down to Earth, playfully shoving Luke's hands away.

"She still looks subdued." Nick mused, studying me. " Eddie, did you give her a stickie?"

"I don't think so..." Eddie said, digging through his backpack. He pulled a bag of weed out, and tossed it over to Wyatt. Wyatt grabbed it and stuffed it into a random pocket, looking around.

"Dude, you gotta be careful!" Wyatt exclaimed. Eddie shrugged.

"I didn't know you were the paranoid type." They then launched into a conversation about 'the fuzz' and paranoiacs.

"Did you hear about Rebecca and Alvin?" Matthew asked, easily bored with Eddie and Wyatt. He never smoked, and had a short attention span. I shook my head, as did everyone else at the table.

"They broke up. Rebecca's pregnant, and it's not Alvin's."

"Whose is it?"

"Carver's." There was a collective gasp, and we all turned our attention to the 'popular' table. Carver had an arm around Rebecca, but she looked immensely uncomfortable.

"Maybe that's why they haven't been botherin' you." Nick stated, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Probably. I just hope it stays this way."

* * *

"How do you handle this shit?" Luke asked, squirming a bit. I just smirked, keeping my eyes on Freddy Krueger. We were watching A Nightmare on Elms Street, and horror wasn't exactly Luke's favorite genre. "Don't you own a chick flick?"

"Nope. Documemtaries and horrors." He rolled his eyes, but tightened his arms around me.

After another hour the movie was over, much to Luke's relief.

"Pretty girls are supposed to be scared of tthese movies."

"Maybe I'm not pretty enough."

"Oh, you're definitely pretty enough."

Then he kissed me. It wasn't our first kiss, thankfully. Our first kiss had been more awkward than anything, mostly because it had been my first kiss.

"Woods, if you would kindly take your face off of my daughter's face, it would be much appreciated." My dad announced, walking into the living room. We quickly removed, both of us a little red.

Luke stood up, hands in his pockets.

"Well, I better head home. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course. L-" I quickly stopped myself. We had been dating for three months. I wasn't sure if that was too soon to say _ the L word. _Before I could get to embarrassed, he just smiled.

"Love you, too."

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, I've just had writers block. Well, that and the fact that _he's _gone. Anyway, I'm back. So feel free to review and tell me what I can fix!**

**-Love Bella**


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